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01 December 2013

Empties - November 2013

I can't believe it's December... i.e. the LAST month of 2013! Where has the year gone?!

I have quite a fair bit of "empties" this month, most of which are hair care and skin care products. I did cheat a little, as I forgot two empties last month, so I included them this month.

In no particular order, these are the products I've used up in November...

1. Selsun Blue Anti-dandruff Shampoo
I've gone through about 4 bottles of this shampoo and it has been featured in quite a number of empties posts. This is an amazing, affordable shampoo for itchy scalp, and I'd have to give this HG status as an anti-dandruff shampoo. I alternate this with another shampoo, which varies. I'm currently alternating Selsun Blue with a Kerastase shampoo.

2. Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourish Conditioner
Not a fan of this. It did nothing special for my hair even after using up all 500ml that warrants a repurchase. My hair was still left dry and damaged, resulting in me having to chop the "dead" bits off.

3. Terax Crema Conditioner
I LOVE this conditioner! I was quite tempted to purchase the full size version but I have far too many conditioners to get through. I will most likely repurchase when my conditioner stash runs low, as it smells amazing and detangled my hair really well, leaving it soft and so much more manageable.

4. John Frieda Intense After-Colour Conditioner
To be honest, I'm not sure if this conditioner helped to preserve my hair colour. It did help nourish my hair a little and it smelt good. Unfortunately, the nourishment didn't seem to last very long, as after my hair dried (and especially after waking up), my hair got quite tangled and dry. I probably won't repurchase this.

5. Macadamia Rejuvenating Shampoo
I really enjoyed using this shampoo and was bummed out when I finished it. It's a great shampoo that left my hair feeling clean. It also didn't aggravate my scalp. I will repurchase once my shampoo stash runs low.

6. Elemis FreshSkin Skin Clear Mattifying Moisturizer
This moisturizer was quite thick, but it absorbed into my skin really easily. I think this moisturizer helped keep my oily skin at bay, although I did get a bit shiny towards the end of the day. This moisturizer has a really strong citrusy smell, which thankfully disappears after slapping on some foundation. I would probably repurchase this for its mattifying properties.

7. Estee Lauder Makeup Brush Cleanser
Ermahgerd! I can't believe I've FINALLY used up this brush cleanser (although there was a teeny weeny bit left in the picture above). This has lasted for about 1.5 years - this probably shows how often I clean my brushes... But this cleanser is amazeballs. I have a spray top that I used for this bottle (I swapped it with my MAC brush cleanser, which I'm pretty sure is the same thing) and it worked brilliantly at getting all the gunk off my brushes. I spray my brushes with the cleanser and simply wipe the gunk off with a kitchen paper towel and repeat a few more times, depending how long it has been since the last clean. I do sometimes do a deep clean where I actually use shampoo to wash my brushes, but I don't do it as often as I should because I'm lazy. I have purchased two or three bottles of the MAC version, and will continue re-purchasing once I've used up 8. Etude House Nail Polish Remover - Mild & Extra Power
Holy smokes batman! I don't think I've ever used a better nail polish remover! Even the mild version removed my glitter manicures effortlessly. AND it doesn't even smell offensive. In fact, it smells surprisingly nice for nail polish remover. This is my favourite nail polish remover EVER. It also doesn't wreck my acrylic nails, which is amazeballs. This is definitely my HG nail polish remover. Have already repurchased two. :)

9. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - Professional sized
This ginormous bottle of daily microfoliant (well, it's not that ginormous, but it's big compared to the non-professional ones) lasted me AGES. I don't even remember when I started using this. But I finished this in October (i.e. one of the two products I forgot to list in the previous empties post). It's a great and gentle exfoliant (or microfoliant). In case you are unaware of how to use this, it's a powder that you have to add water to and create a paste. I sometimes don't add enough water to create a paste if I need a harsher "scrub". So it's great for all skin types, even delicate/sensitive skin. I would probably repurchase this one day, but I'm a bit sick of it, after using this every morning for God-knows-how-long.

10. Clinique Skin Supplies for men face scrub
This is the second product that was used up in October. This is my HG scrub. Even my brother who uses high end skin care, such as SK-II, Chanel and Bobbi Brown loves this. He loved it so much that he used approximately 80% of my scrub (bloody rude!). It is a bit of a harsh/gritty scrub (which is why I love it) and it contain menthol, which leaves the best refreshing feeling ever. I have repurchased this because I love it so much! I think I'll need to purchase a backup in case my brother uses it all up again (and I'll make sure to forward him the bill).

11. Davroe Wellbeing Treatment Replenish conditioner
I did a micro-review in my November Lust Have It box review (read here). It lasted four washes for me, which was disappointing. It smells really good but I don't think it did much for my hair in terms of nourishment. My hair didn't feel all that moisturized after it was left to air-dry, but the smell of the conditioner lingered till my next shower, which I love. I'm not entirely sure if I'll repurchase.

12. Nivea In-Shower Skin Conditioner for very dry skin
I had high hopes for this skin conditioner but it failed me when I needed it most. I had extremely dry skin, which itched like crazy and I ended up getting rashes-like bumps all over my legs. This did absolutely nothing for my legs, and I ended up having to go to the doctor, who gave me a prescription for an ointment. I will not be repurchasing this.

13. Bath & Body Works Paris Amour Body Lotion
Unfortunately, this didn't help with my itchy, dry skin either, but it smells really good. I can't wait till I go to America in about 2.5 weeks to stock up on more Bath & Body Works stuff! (I may be SLIGHTLY biased, as Bath & Body Works products can do no wrong in my eyes)

14. Lush Twilight Shower Gel
I was using this shower gel during my itchy, dry skin phase. Needless to say, it's not moisturizing BUT Lush did not claim that this shower gel has any moisturizing properties. It is a calming shower gel, which smells like lavender. I probably would not repurchase this, as I'm now a Bath & Body Works convert.

That's it for my November empties! What have you emptied recently? Any products that earned HG status?

Great bunch of things! I really really want to try products from that macadamia line...will most likely order from beauty bay! I've been finishing tones of products the last three months. Lots of shampoos, conditioners, make up brush cleaners and eye make up remover. I've been finishing a lot of face products like toners and face washes too. My goal is to NOT buy anymore new face type products until sometime next year!